The Big Meeting

It was a good meeting. Of course, I was the first one to get emotional but I still managed to get my points across. I've given this stuff a lot of thought so I knew what I wanted to say.

I got pretty mad at Dad at one point. We were talking about cleaning up his house, something he had agreed to when it was just the two of us talking. In front of everyone else he decided to dig in and resist it. His house, that BIG house, is stuffed to the gills with STUFF. He wanted to have final say on everything that will be thrown away. Man, if we did it that way it would never get done. I told him he couldn't have final say on throwing out old crap and that we wouldn't throw away anything that was important to him. We're going to be there working our asses off so he'll have an easier time living in his house. We're not going to get his ok on every item. He started going into the same bullshit that he's been saying for years whenever we'd complain about all the clutter in his house. I wasn't going to put up with any of that so I barked at him pretty good. Maybe it wasn't the best reaction but I'm ok with it.

We're not going to move in next door until it's clear that Dad really can't live on his own. Monday, Bob is going to change the deadbolts on Dad's doors. He has those awful deadbolts that can only be opened with a key. We're also getting smoke alarms.

We're going to do what we can to AD proof the house but there are some things that will still be dangerous, like his oven and stove. He's been storing cans of Coke in his lower oven, Debbie said when she got up this morning the upper oven was on warm and the door was open. She thinks when he was up last night he got cold so he turned the oven on. All kinds of possibilities for disaster are present with that one.

The other thing that worries me is the stove. It's this horrible, monster stove that has a solid glass top. It heats up super fast. It has those burners that light up with this nuclear orange glow when they're turned to high. When you turn it off the burner is still hot! it has a light on the controls to warn you but it's not very noticeable. The surface is a big, black slab of glass that is the perfect spot to plop down papers, groceries or anything else you might have in your hand when you come in the door.

It was kind of funny this afternoon. When I first got there everyone was in the kitchen looking at pictures and stuff. We chatted for a while and then decided it was time to fix dinner. The guys left the room (of course) and the sisters got to work getting out food and dishes and setting up our individual work stations. Funny how natural that comes to all of us. Since Dad was just out of earshot we all started up with these funny little whispering conversations with each other while we were puttering around. We were just talking about different things that happened with Dad and exchanging ideas but it all seemed so conspiratory. It made me laugh hearing all the pssss, pssss, psssss stuff flying around the kitchen.

Women.

We got a lot handled tonight but it also brought up a whole new set of things that need to get done. I guess that's the way it's going to be from now on. Tomorrow they're all coming here to walk around the farm. David can get a look at the house and see what else needs to be done to insure Dad's safety.

It was a very good meeting. It got pretty serious a few times. It felt good to talk it all out with them. I do have a good family.

There's more, but it's late.